Authors: Danielle Sosin

The Long-Shining Waters (29 page)

BOOK: The Long-Shining Waters

11.24Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

Author’s Note

The Ojibwe language is comprised of many dialects. Sounds, spelling, and grammar vary from place to place. I would like to acknowledge that for the purpose of consistency between stories in the text, I chose to use word spellings from more than one dialect.

This work was gratefully funded in part by two Arrowhead Regional Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowhip Grants (in 2004 and 2007), funded through an appropriation from the McKnight Foundation.

Acknowledgments

The writing of this book involved a great deal of research. I am inspired by and indebted to all the fieldworkers and the authors of fiction and nonfiction whose works helped to inform this book.

My gratitude to the many people—knowledgeable researchers, sailors, patient and amused scientists, program personnel, collection tenders, and librarians—who accepted office visits and phone calls at: The University of Minnesota Duluth’s American Indian Resource Center, Minnesota Sea Grant, The Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Minnesota Historical Society, The University of Wisconsin Superior’s Archives, The North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum, The Blue Heron Research Vessel, and The Large Lakes Observatory.

I would also like to acknowledge the dedicated and often unsung staff that keep stories alive at historical sites, parks, lighthouses, heritage centers, small museums, information centers, and tourist destinations all around Lake Superior.

My deep appreciation to those who took the time to guide me through their worlds: glassblower Anton James (Jim) Vojacek at Oulu Glass; Blaine Fenstad, son of a son of a fisherman, who kindly allowed me into his home; and to Steve Dahl who fishes the big water off Knife River today, and who took me along as he picked his nets one cold and beautiful morning.

Many places contributed to the writing of this book by providing crucial time and space to work. My gratitude to: The Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Study, The Blacklock Nature Sanctuary, The Oberholtzer Foundation, Joan Drury and her little white cabin on the shore, Norcroft, The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and in particular, The Ragdale Foundation for its long and unwavering support.

Thank you to The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council for supplying financial support through Career Opportunity and Artist Fellowship Grants.

I’m grateful to Kurt Herke and Jane Levinson, their flexibility, good nature and support made everything run smoother. To the kind people at the Gunflint Tavern who kept me company during many long writing stints; to Claire Kirch, for the schooling; and to Emilie Buchwald, bright light and pathfinder.

I’d like to acknowledge the marvelous staff at Milkweed Editions. My sincere thank-you to each of them for their efforts on the novel’s behalf. And to Daniel Slager, who championed this book from the start, understood its essence, and worked to make it better.

I’d like to thank the many people who read drafts of the book over the years, including Deb Eagle, Sheryl Eagle, and the women who gathered at their table to discuss the manuscript and in particular the Ojibwe storyline; Jeanne Farrar, Duke Klassen, Leslie Johnson, Larry Laverk, Kathy Lewis, Jane Lund, Pat Rhoades, Mary Rockcastle, Blaise Taylor, and Alice Templeton.

This book would not have been written without my family and friends. My grateful heart for your constant support as encouragers, readers, bent ears, and merrymakers—you are the backbone of everything.

To my longtime mentor and friend Pat Francisco, for every step along the way.

To Ken Bloom, air and bedrock.

DANIELLE SOSIN
is the author of
Garden Primitives,
a collection of stories published by Coffee House Press, 2000. Her stories have been chosen for National Public Radio’s
Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story,
and for Iowa Public Radio’s
Live from Prairie Lights.
Her work has also appeared in the
Alaska Quarterly Review.
Sosin is the recipient of a Loft Mentor Series Award, a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, and two Arrowhead Regional Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Grants. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota.

More Fiction from Milkweed Editions

The Milkweed National Fiction Prize is awarded annually by the editors at Milkweed Editions. Previous recipients of the Milkweed National Fiction Prize include:

Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles
Kira Henehan
(2010)

Driftless
David Rhodes
(2008)

The Farther Shore
Matthew Eck
(2007)

Visigoth
Gary Amdahl
(2006)

Crossing Bully Creek
Margaret Erhart
(2005)

Ordinary Wolves
Seth Kantner
(2004)

For more information, please visit
www.milkweed.org
, or contact us directly at (800) 520-6455.

Milkweed Editions

Founded as a nonprofit organization in 1980, Milkweed Editions is an independent publisher. Our mission is to identify, nurture and publish transformative literature, and build an engaged community around it.

Join Us

In addition to revenue generated by the sales of books we publish, Milkweed Editions depends on the generosity of institutions and individuals like you. In an increasingly consolidated and bottom-linedriven publishing world, your support allows us to select and publish books on the basis of their literary quality and transformative potential. Please visit our Web site (
www.milkweed.org
) or contact us at (800) 520-6455 to learn more.

Milkweed Editions, a nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from
Amazon.com
; Emilie and Henry Buchwald; the Bush Foundation; the Patrick and Aimee Butler Foundation; Timothy and Tara Clark; the Dougherty Family Foundation; Friesens; the General Mills Foundation; John and Joanne Gordon; Ellen Grace; William and Jeanne Grandy; the Jerome Foundation; the Lerner Foundation; Sanders and Tasha Marvin; the McKnight Foundation; Mid-Continent Engineering; the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts; Kelly Morrison and John Willoughby; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Navarre Corporation; Ann and Doug Ness; Jörg and Angie Pierach; the Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation; the RBC Foundation USA; the Target Foundation; the Travelers Foundation; Moira and John Turner; and Edward and Jenny Wahl.

The Editor’s Circle of Milkweed Editions

We gratefully acknowledge the patrons of the Editor’s Circle for their support of the literary arts.

Anonymous (2)

Maurice and Sally Blanks

Tracey and Jeff Breazeale

Jim Buchta and John Wirth

Emilie and Henry Buchwald

Robert and Gail Buuck

Robert Chandler

Timothy and Tara Clark

Barbara Coffin and Daniel Engstrom

Libby and Tom Coppo

Richard and Susan Crockett

Betsy and Edward Cussler

Mary Lee Dayton

Kathy and Mike Dougherty

Julie DuBois

Jack and Camie Eugster

Laurence Fishburne

Allison and Scott Gage

Walter and Raeanna Gislason

John and Joanne Gordon

Ellen Grace

William and Jeanne Grandy

Joseph and Marjorie Grinnell

John Gulla and Andrea Godbout

Elizabeth and Edwin Hlavka

Henry Justin

Crissy Kerr

Constance and Daniel Kunin

Stephanie Laitala and John Rupp

Allen and Kathleen Lenzmeier

Adam Lerner

Harry J. Lerner

Dorothy Kaplan Light and Ernest Light

Sally Macut

Chris and Ann Malecek

Charles Marvin

Sanders and Tasha Marvin

Loretta McCarthy

Robert and Vivian McDonald

Mary Merrill and William Quinn

Alfred P. and Ann Moore

Elizabeth Moran

Chris and Jack Morrison

Kelly Morrison and John Willoughby

David and Kate Mortenson

Grace and Joe Musilek

Wendy Nelson

Ann and Doug Ness

Christopher Pearson and Amy Larson

Elizabeth Petrangelo and Michael Lundby

Jörg and Angela Pierach

Margaret and Dan Preska

Robin Quivers

Deborah Reynolds

Cheryl Ryland

Cindy and William Schmoker

Daniel Slager and Alyssa Polack

Schele and Philip Smith

Cindy and Steve Snyder

Larry and Joy Steiner

Michael Steinhardt

Moira and John Turner

Joanne Von Blon

Edward and Jenny Wahl

Margot Marsh Wanner

Betsy and David Weyerhaeuser

Eleanor and Fred Winston

Margaret and Angus Wurtele

Interior design by Rachel Holscher
Typeset in Warnock Pro
by BookMobile Design and Publishing Services
Printed on acid-free 100% post consumer waste paper
by Friesens Corporation

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.

(800) 520-6455

www.milkweed.org

Please turn to the back of this book for a list of the sustaining funders of Milkweed Editions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sosin, Danielle, 1959–

p. cm.

eISBN : 978-1-571-31834-3

1. Superior, Lake—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3569.O714L66 2011

813’.6—dc22

2011002077

This book is printed on acid-free paper.